


All's fair in love and war

by 18WhyamIdoingthis20



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:07:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28157310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/18WhyamIdoingthis20/pseuds/18WhyamIdoingthis20
Summary: I've tried something new with this.
Relationships: OC/OC





	All's fair in love and war

**Author's Note:**

> This is the roughest of first drafts. Apologies for any inconsistencies. I haven't even read through it fully.

“Mary!” a voice called up the passage. “Mary, what on earth are you doing?”  
Mary sighed in frustration – her mother was always prying into her business. “I’m just brushing my hair!” she lied. “I’ll be with you in a minute!” In reality, Mary’s hair was already styled properly; Mary was actually penning a strongly worded letter in reply to one she had received from Sir George Chamberlain, asking for her hand in marriage. Mary had no desire to marry Sir George, but she knew it was her mother’s greatest wish that she would marry into a respectable and wealthy family so decided to hide her actions from her mother. She only hoped that her mother had not yet received any knowledge of Sir George’s intentions. The last thing she needed was another argument with her mother about her romantic endeavours.  
“Mary!” her mother shouted, sounding irater than before. “Hurry up! We’re going to be late!”  
“Almost done!” Mary shouted back; this time she spoke the truth, as she signed off her letter, added a particularly shocking postscript, and wrote the address. Giving the letter to her maid, she exited her room and walked down the passage to where her mother stood, looking frustrated. Her mother gave a sigh of frustration. “After all the time you spent brushing your hair,” she complained. “You’d hope for something exceptional. But instead, I am subject to the same style as always – how do you expect to attract the attentions of men such as Sir George Chamberlain if you never put any effort into looking attractive? You’ve missed your chance with him as well – I heard from his mother that he looked likely to secure the attentions of some attractive and eligible young woman.”  
Mary sighed in relief.  
“I don’t know what you’re smiling at young lady,” her mother continued. “A marriage would be beneficial for you – there is no way a young woman can achieve financial stability without marriage.”  
Mary snorted. “And marriage is so beneficial to you, mother,” she sneered. “It’s so obvious that father is cheating on you.”  
“I don’t know where you get these ideas from, Mary,” her mother retorted. “He is in town with other gentlemen – I hardly know how he can have dalliances with other women.”  
“Because women are the only people with which he can have dalliances,” Mary laughed to herself. “Really, mother, your ignorance of people is astounding.”  
“Hush your mouth, girl!” Mary’s mother sounded shocked and offended. “I cannot have you level these scandalous accusations against your father.”  
“You live in wilful ignorance, mother,” Mary snapped. “I have heard things that you would not believe about the men he chooses to spend his time with. You don’t even know the half of it. All your so-called-friends mock you behind your back for not being able to see what is so obvious to them.”  
Mary’s mother said nothing, choosing instead to walk briskly down the corridor, dragging Mary behind her.

Their engagement was to spend the evening with the Comtesse Isabella and her daughter Felicity. As the older women would naturally gravitate towards each other, it was expected that Mary and Felicity would spend most of their time together. Mary had not been looking forward to this – she hated Felicity. Felicity clearly showed her distaste for Mary as well, making their tete-a-tete awkward and heated. “Pleasure to meet you, Felicity,” Mary said through clenched teeth. “I feel as though we have only just parted.”  
“Indeed, Mary,” Felicity replied in the same tone. “The gaps between when we meet certainly seem far too short.”  
“I certainly do my best to appreciate the time we spend apart.”  
“Of course, Mary. There is no company I enjoy less than yours.”  
“That is evident, Felicity. How many flirtations are you engaging in at the moment? Have you found a man who satisfies you yet?”  
“You severely overestimate my desire to find a husband, Mary. I can assure you that I have better things to do with my time than engage with the other sex. I doubt the same can be said of you, especially with your mother. You must be quite desperate to find a husband by now.”  
“It is quite the opposite I assure you, Felicity. Just this morning I received another proposal of marriage that I had to reject – I am sure that you have never had to do such a thing.”  
“I assure you that I am quite well versed in the art of rejecting men – perhaps you could have used some assistance in crafting your very first letter of rejection. I would not have been afraid to help you.”  
“I do not require the help of an amateur, Felicity. I never have and never will want your opinions on how to deal with men.”  
“If you insist upon living without the ability to properly convey your intentions to others, I shall leave you to suffer further unwanted attention.”  
“Any attention from you is unwanted – which is why I chose not to ask for your advice.”  
Felicity pulled a face of disgust and the two of them stood in silence, making unbroken eye contact.  
“Has your father decided to return to your mother yet?” Felicity asked after a pause. “Last I heard, he was living with a Lord.”  
“He has gone to town with some ‘friends’ of his,” Mary sneered. “My mother refuses to believe that he is anything other than faithful to her – she is foolish enough to believe that the absence of women is sufficient to guarantee his fidelity.”  
“Your mother is a fool,” Felicity scoffed. “At least my mother has enough sense to know that her own marriage is over. I suppose that the ignorance of your mother plays some part in explaining why you are like that.”  
“You like to think you are so superior to me, just because my mother is an ignorant fool, and my father is a cheating bastard. At least I have enough sense to see them for who they are. I even do my duty as a daughter by trying to convince my mother of the truth. When have you ever done your duty?”  
“My mother would have you believe that I am a most dutiful and diligent child – while I am sure yours believes you to be insolent and contrary.”  
“If it means that I do not have to lower myself to flattery and obsequiousness, I would be quite satisfied to be known as insolent and contrary – as long as I am telling people the truth.”  
“I am understanding now why you have so few admirers, Mary. Avoiding causing offence is not flattery, it is merely sensibility. Your lack of respect for the feelings of others is always apparent.”  
“I show a lack of respect to you because you do not respect me; in regard to my mother, her feelings are my primary interest. I do not wish to see her remain the dupe of my father. I am capable of pleasing where I choose. It is only that I do not choose to please you.”  
“A likely story.”  
Mary made no reply, choosing instead to glare at Felicity.

The conversation continued in much the same vein for the remainder of the evening, each growing more infuriated with the other as more time elapsed. Eventually, however, their mothers realised how much time had passed, and Mary was able to leave with her mother. They spent the journey home in churlish silence – Mary’s mother still upset over Mary’s earlier insinuations, and Mary frustrated at her mother for forcing her to spend so much time with Felicity.

When Mary entered her room, she saw that her maid was turning down her bed. “Good evening, ma’am?” she asked.  
“Of course, it wasn’t,” Mary snapped, then realised that she had been unnecessarily rude. “Sorry, Maud, but I have had to spend an evening with Felicity again.”  
“You certainly seem to become worked up whenever you spend time with Felicity,” Maud remarked. “What did you discuss this time?”  
“Our suitors.”  
“Of course – do you believe she has too few or too many?”  
“I believe that she wastes time flirting with those whom she has no interest in,” Mary answered. “Although she has the audacity to believe that I have no success in attracting suitors of my own – she even offered to help me pen a letter of rejection to Sir George Chamberlain. Can you imagine the cheek?”  
“Felicity certainly seems to be a bold young woman,” Maud remarked. “I can understand why your personalities would clash. You have a great deal in common.”  
“How am I similar to Felicity? She plays the whore with countless men, I am sure, and boasts of her conquests. I am nothing like her. I could turn you away for such insolence, Maud.”  
Maud smiled defiantly. “Where would you be without me, Mary?” she asked. “I did not mean to suggest you acted in the same manner, only that you both seem to be spirited young women. I also would like to know where you gained the impression that Felicity ‘plays the whore with countless men’ – I have heard nothing of the kind of her, and remember that I know the servants of both Felicity and those with whom she keeps company quite well. I would certainly have heard rumours if what you said were at least partly true.”  
“Well, I heard…” Mary was a little more uncertain. “I heard it said that she has a more ‘extensive taste’ – surely that is evidence enough of my claims.”  
Maud laughed. “I do not think that means what you think it means. Perhaps if you spent less time judging and more time talking to Felicity, you would be able to understand.”  
“Aren’t you the expert,” Mary sneered. “I do not understand why you insist upon me talking to Felicity – she certainly would not return the civilities.”  
“Perhaps not at first, but maybe if you stopped degrading her at every opportunity, she would learn to trust you.”  
“Perhaps if you kept your opinions to yourself it would help you to retain your position. I believe that I am being quite generous in allowing you to remain with me after you show such disrespect.”  
“You would not dare turn me away,” Maud retorted boldly. “I know far too many of your secrets for you to risk upsetting me too much – besides, I do not think you would be able to find many servants who would allow their mistress to take such liberties as you do. I have just as much power over you as you do over me.”  
“What would it damage me for the world to know my secrets? Surely it is accepted that the daughter would follow in the footsteps of her father. I would not be ashamed for everyone to know – in fact, you can tell my mother. See if she believes you.”  
“Perhaps I will.” Maud snapped, and stormed out of the room. Mary didn’t bother stopping her as she knew that she would not really tell her mother – they had had arguments like this one, countless times before. Mary trusted Maud implicitly, even if she frequently spoke out of turn, and she often relied on her guidance, even if she rarely admitted this to Maud herself. On this occasion, something about what Maud had said regarding Felicity had bothered her for some reason, and she wanted some time to herself to think about why.  
Mary could not help but admit that Maud was right: she should perhaps have taken some time to learn about Felicity from herself rather than form her own judgements from second-hand information. She also knew that Felicity was right when she said that she did not respect the feelings of others – did she not spend most of her time either belittling Maud or seducing her? Did she not constantly remind her mother of what must surely hurt her emotionally? She knew that she should apologise to them, but for some reason she did not. She turned her mind to the letter she had sent to Sir George Chamberlain, and felt shame burning in her stomach: although his own had warranted little respect in its response, she had managed to show him less than that, abusing and belittling him with every word. As she reflected even further, a sudden sad thought came to her: aside from Maud, the closest she had to a friend was Felicity, the woman whom she argued with and insulted at every meeting; despite their incivilities, Mary admitted such things to Felicity as she would never tell another soul, not even Maud. Somehow, Mary found herself confessing her deepest secrets to Felicity, masked under distain and evoking criticism and ridicule, but she continued. Felicity had a power over her that even Maud did not hold, which Mary began to realise made her lash out against Felicity, not wanting to be vulnerable even for a moment. Despite her protestations, she in some way looked forwards to her meetings with Felicity; was she so starved for company that she appreciated even the time spent with someone who constantly demeaned her just because she was her intellectual equal? Mary shook her head and began to undress herself for bed, an activity which was always more difficult whenever Maud was not there.

Mary awoke the next morning to the sound of driving rain pounding on her window. Opening her eyes, she saw Maud stood over her, a condescending look on her face. “Were you cold last night, ma’am?” she asked stoking the fire. “I know how much you dislike sleeping alone, which is why you cannot let me go. I understand all that you want from me – I accept that I am merely someone to stop you feeling lonely at night. Someone who keeps the bad dreams at bay.”  
“I’m sorry,” Mary said, sitting up in bed. “I treat you so terribly. I don’t know how you can stand to spend time with me. I really should listen to you more – we can end the arrangement, if you really want.”  
“What?” Maud seemed taken aback. “Where has this come from? You don’t sound anything at all like the Mary who spoke to me last night. What happened to you?”  
“Last night got me thinking… I have so few friends, and those who are my friends I disrespect and demean at every opportunity. What sort of a person does that make me?”  
“The fact you can understand your flaws makes you a better person than many others,” Maud replied kindly. “If you work on improving yourself, that could make a difference as well.”  
“I hope that I am able to improve as a person,” Mary replied, more to herself than anything else. “I do not much like who I am at the moment.”  
“You are still young, Mary. You have time to change.”  
“I hope that you are right, Maud.” Mary climbed out of bed, and Maud began to help her dress for the day.

“Mary!” her mother’s voice echoed down the passage. “I hope that you are ready, because we are visiting the Comtesse again.” It had been several weeks since their last visit, during which Mary had stuck to her word and tried to show more respect for those around her, even if her mother still tried her patience.  
“I am here, mother” Mary answered, leaving her room. “Maud was just giving the finishing touches to my hair. Do you think it becomes me well, mother?”  
“You look fine, Mary,” her mother replied shortly. “Although it is of little consequence.”  
Mary bit back her retort, opting instead for a sigh of frustration.  
“I got a letter from your father today,” her mother remarked, as they walked outside. “He says that he should be leaving town soon. Apparently, he had a disagreement with his friend.”  
Mary bit back her sarcastic comment about her father, instead saying a rather strained “That’s nice.”  
“You’ve never expressed an interest in seeing your father before.” Her mother sounded surprised.  
“I thought you might like to talk to him for once. He is your husband after all. It might be nice for you to see him.”  
Mary’s mother squinted suspiciously but said nothing.

When they arrived, Mary’s mother introduced herself again to the Comtesse, and Mary went to talk to Felicity, as was usual. This time, however, Mary tried to be civil and courteous to Felicity. “How are you keeping?” Mary asked, sounding as genuine as she could. “It has been some weeks since last we spoke.”  
“That is true,” Felicity replied, somewhat taken aback. “But why the sudden interest in my welfare?”  
“Idle curiosity.” Mary replied, trying to sound disinterested.  
“I am doing well, Mary. In fact, the Lord Decahenry has begun a flirtation with me.”  
Mary let out an audible sigh of frustration. “Of course, you have commenced another flirtation. Why does that not surprise me?”  
“I have not commenced the flirtation,” Felicity retorted, somewhat relieved that Mary seemed to have returned to her usual argumentative self. “It was he who commenced it with me – and he is an eligible fellow. I could do far worse than him. Surely you must have noticed his good looks when you saw him.”  
“If I have seen him, his charms missed me completely. I have no interest in men, I can assure you. I cannot understand your fascination with enticing their affections – any attention they show to me is always unwelcome.”  
“I do not believe you welcome any attention which is positive – and I am sure that your disinterest in men is sparked in part by your father’s keen interest in them.”  
“I did not come here to discuss my father with you. Perhaps we ought to show him some respect for once; however little he is due, I fear we show him even less than that. He is not as negligent as we feared – he is visiting us soon.”  
“You’re normally the last person to ask for people to respect your father. What has got into you, Mary?”  
“I am merely doing my duty as a diligent child. I do not see how that could surprise you.”  
“You’ve changed, Mary. I don’t like it.”  
“You’ve never liked me, Felicity – that has been clear. Last time we met you told me that I was disrespectful and rude; I have been trying to avoid those flaws, and you tell me that you do not like it. I do not know what I am supposed to do about that.”  
“I did not think that you would listen to what I said. You never seemed to show any real interest in what I said before.”  
“It was not just you – do not think that your influence over me is so great.” Mary could feel herself panicking and trying to protect herself. “It was also the advice of my woman Maud, who is my confidant and occasional bedfellow.” Mary suddenly stopped, realising that she had said too much.  
“Why does that not surprise me? Of course, you are having an affair with your maid.”  
“It isn’t like that,” Mary cried. “I have trouble sleeping. She helps keep me calm. You wouldn’t understand – you know nothing of my past. You don’t know why I am this way, Felicity. You know nothing of me.” Mary had begun to sob, taking Felicity aback. Awkwardly, Felicity put a comforting arm around Mary’s shoulder; Mary collapsed onto Felicity, holding onto her for support. Fortunately, their mothers were too engaged in their conversation to notice what was happening. Felicity held onto Mary until she composed herself, encouraging her to breathe. Once she had regained some of her composure, Felicity offered to get her some water, but Mary declined. Instead, she sat down on a chair near the fire and invited Felicity to join her.  
“Do you want to talk about it?” Felicity asked awkwardly, unsure of what else to say.  
“Not a great deal,” Mary replied quietly. “Yet I feel I must say something.”  
“You don’t have to, Mary. Not if it will only upset you.”  
“I shan’t go into detail, but it has been a great burden for me to keep the knowledge to myself.”  
“Surely there is someone else you can tell other than me – I am surely not your first choice of confidante. You cannot stand me.”  
“That may be the case, but I realised last night that you are the closest I have to a friend, aside from Maud. She has some understanding of my troubles, yet I feel as though your knowledge of my family recommends you as the person to whom this knowledge should be bestowed.”  
“This relates to your family?”  
“It was the actions of my father. He thought he was protecting me, but he was too rash, and only caused me more pain than I would have experienced otherwise. I understand that he meant well, but there were other, more rational, measures he could have taken to defend me rather than taking a life. This is what I relive every night I sleep alone – do you not see why I choose to spend my nights in the company of another?”  
Felicity placed a reassuring hand on Mary’s shoulder, unsure of what else to do. There was a silence as they both waited for the other to speak, until Felicity eventually said “I suppose that this explains your relationship with Maud, but it does not explain your distaste for my relationships with others – I do not understand why it is your business.”  
“What on earth do you mean by that?” Mary was nonplussed.  
“For as long as I have known you, you have always despised hearing news of my flirtations. Why is this?”  
Mary paused, a strange feeling growing in her chest. “I don’t know… maybe I was… I think that it may have been jealousy.”  
“In what way have you been jealous? You have never sought the attentions of men.”  
“Felicity, your bastardisation of the English language disappoints me – you are thinking of envy, not jealousy. Jealousy is where you despise other people having what should be yours. What I mean by that is I hated hearing of your romantic exploits because I had a romantic interest in you myself, I just did not realise it.”  
“How long have you felt this way?” Felicity asked.  
“I cannot tell. I only realised that this was how I felt last night, but I know that I have felt this way for much longer.”  
“I find myself admitting that I share these feelings for you – although I have been aware of them for longer than that. I kept the camaraderie because I did not know how else to speak to you. If I exposed my feelings, I risked ending all discourse with you entirely, so I chose instead to act indifferent.”  
“I suppose confessing your feelings prior to now would have made things awkward. I have been slow to accept my feelings for you.”  
“You have acknowledged them now.” Felicity paused, thoughtfully. “What are we going to do now?”  
“I do not understand.”  
“Our relationship prior to now was based around insulting each other because we were not acknowledging our romantic feelings for each other. Now we have acknowledged them, what are we going to do?”  
Mary laughed. “Just because we admit we like each-other, it doesn’t mean that the banter has to stop – just now we can accept the love behind our words.”  
Felicity chuckled. “That’s exactly the sort of ridiculous thing I would expect to hear from you.”  
Mary scoffed. “What were you expecting me to say? That I was to show you every curtesy imaginable – you could hardly bear when I was a fraction more polite to you this evening, goading me into distemper in order for you to interact with the woman whom you knew best. You would not be able to cope if I were to be perfectly civil to you at every meeting.”  
“I do not ask for your civility – I ask for your affection.”  
“And you have it, dearest Felicity, but I cannot stop being who I am.”  
“I would be most disappointed if you did.”  
“I am glad we have settled that.”  
The conversation would have continued, but their mothers had finished theirs, so Mary was required to return home.

“What were you and Felicity talking about?” Mary’s mother asked on the carriage ride home. “You seemed to be more affected by it than usual.”  
“Nothing of consequence,” Mary lied. “Do not trouble yourself about me, mother.”  
“Are you concerned about the impending arrival of your father?” her mother asked. “I know you dislike him for neglecting us, but surely this is proof that he has not wholly forgotten us.”  
“I am sure that we will never agree on this subject – perhaps it would be better if we discussed something else instead.”  
“No. You have voiced your opinion freely on this subject in the past – why should you stop now, simply because he is arriving shortly.”  
Mary sighed in frustration, trying her hardest to be patient with her mother but failing badly. “I think he is only coming back as a result of desperation – a sentiment which was so evident in his letter that when relaying his intentions even you managed to convey it to me. However, I think that perhaps I have been too harsh on him in the past and I intend to give him the benefit of the doubt, as you have been so eager to do in the past.”  
“I’ll believe that when I see it.”  
Mary decided it would be best to remain silent, as she did not trust herself to remain civil to her mother.

Mary’s father arrived the next day. His arrival, while it had been forewarned, was still somewhat unexpected, as he walked in on Mary and her mother as they were breakfasting. Mary’s mother stood up from her seat to greet him, while Mary decided to continue eating, choosing to pretend that nothing was happening.  
“Good morning, Mary.” He said, somewhat sternly. Upon not receiving a reply, he walked over to where Mary was sat and took the seat beside her. “I thought I would receive a warmer welcome from my only daughter after so protracted an absence.”  
Mary bit back her comments regarding what she believed to be the cause of his absence, instead saying “I was merely surprised at your lack of ceremony in your arrival. It showed a lack of interest in showing us our due respect; while I am aware that you are in the habit of behaving improperly towards us, I thought that perhaps you would have taken it upon yourself to make amends with us when finally, we were reunited.”  
“Well, I am here now, Mary,” her father replied. “I hope that I can make amends for any offence I have caused you.”  
Mary looked for her mother and saw that she had left the room. “Your intentions may be well,” Mary began, feeling herself able to express herself more freely in the absence of her mother. “But, as always, you choose instead to make the unnecessary gestures, wreaking havoc, rather than deciding to show the small civilities, that would in the long run show more respect and make a better impact on our lives. You might think that what you are doing is right, but you never think of the consequences for other people.”  
“Give it a rest Mary – it’s been over ten years.”  
“Exactly! I was a child then – a child! Do you think a child would want to see what I saw? Do you think anyone would want to see that?”  
“I was trying to protect you, Mary. I thought I was saving you from something worse – and not just you. Who knows how many other people would have been hurt if I had not acted?”  
“I don’t deny that you had my best interests at heart when you acted, but your decision to carry out justice at that moment was far too careless – I have had nightmares about this almost every night since. Do you think that what would have happened to me was worse than seeing what you did?”  
“I’m sorry, Mary. Is that what you want me to say? That I’m sorry? Because I didn’t mean for you to see that. I was just upset by what I saw, and I wanted it to stop.”  
“I wanted it to stop, too. I just didn’t want it to end like that.”  
“I’m sorry that I put you through that.” He had lowered his voice – the apology sounded genuine. “I know that I have been a terrible father. I haven’t tried to do the right thing by you as often as I know I should. I suppose part of it was guilt, because a part of me knew that my response was out of proportion. I knew that the sight of me must remind you of what happened, so I did my best to avoid you, in the hopes that it would save you some pain.”  
“As often happens, your motives are admirable. Perhaps I have failed to acknowledge your good wishes as much as I should. I suppose… well, your assumption was correct – the sight of you did bring up disturbing memories – and I suppose this helped to foster a more resentful spirit towards you than you deserved, because, after all, you were not the original author of my suffering.”  
“My brother was very wrong, yes, but I did make the decision to invite him here. I didn’t know his true nature until that day, but I felt guilty for introducing him to you in the first place. I was desperate to make amends – and I still am.”  
Mary sighed, trying to be patient. “What about my mother?” she asked, thinking it best to avoid dwelling further on a subject that would only upset her.  
“I’m not going to discuss my marriage with my daughter.”  
“Why not? She trusts you implicitly – how do you think I feel when I know that you are betraying her trust? If I were to even suggest that you are anything other than the perfect husband, she would immediately rise to your defence. Do you think that it’s easy for me to see her show such belief in you when I know that you are constantly unfaithful to her?”  
“I did not realise that I was so disreputable that my daughter knew what I was up to – but, in my defence, I did try to warn your mother against marrying me. I told her that I wasn’t prepared to commit myself to any woman, but she insisted that we marry. I decided that it would be best for her that I fulfil her wishes, as she needed the security of a marriage alliance in order to leave her parents’ house. After you were born, she said that I could go to town to find myself. While I admit that I don’t think she meant infidelity to be included in that, I think a part of her knew that I would always be notorious.”  
“Are you planning on telling her the truth?”  
“I might. Though surely if the rumours have reached you, she must have heard them herself.”  
“She denies their possibility. Sometimes I don’t think she would even believe you if you told her the whole truth.”  
“She deserves to know.” Mary’s father left the room, leaving Mary to finish her breakfast alone.

“We’re going to visit the Comtesse Isabella this evening, Mary,” her mother announced that afternoon. “I hope you don’t mind.”  
“You have never asked for my permission before, mother,” Mary answered. “Why should this time be any different? I have no objection to another visit to that honourable lady’s house.”  
“I thought that the presence of your father during this visit may have changed your decision.”  
“I would not deny my own pleasures for his sake.”  
“I would not expect you to behave in such a manner,” her father replied. “That would be most out of character.”  
Mary smiled and said nothing.

“Good evening, Mary,” Felicity said to Mary, when they had made their way to their usual corner of the room. “I trust you have had time to dwell upon the subject of our last discussion.”  
“I have indeed, Felicity,” Mary replied, glancing briefly at her father, who was stood aloof from the rest of the party. “Although the return of my father did distract me from dwelling constantly upon it.”  
“I did not expect to hear that your duties as a daughter were to interrupt with your romantic endeavours, Mary. Surely your own heart would come before anything else in your life.”  
Had she said such a thing before, Mary would have thought Felicity meant to be serious, but she could see a glint in Felicity’s eye that exposed her. “You misrepresent me, my dear – I am often occupied by more than just you; do not flatter yourself. You are also forgetting that there is more that occupies my heart than you – surely my family have their place in there, as well as you.”  
“Perhaps you are right, my dear, but I must admit it is still a surprise for me to hear of you actually respecting your parents.”  
“Respect – how kind of you, my love. There was nothing in my words to suggest that I ever showed my family any respect.”  
Felicity laughed. “There’s the woman I fell in love with. Have you told them about us, yet?”  
“I don’t think my mother would fully understand – and my father has only just returned home.”  
“I have told my mother. I hope you don’t mind. I thought it would be best for me to be honest with her. I don’t think she entirely understood me, but at least I tried.”  
“I do not object to you telling your mother. What more can you do?”  
“Indeed.”  
They discussed the matter at length, until Mary’s father left his solitary reflections in the corner of the room to speak to them.  
“Good evening, sir,” Felicity said, when she saw him. “How have you been keeping yourself lately?”  
“I have been in excellent health.”  
“Excellent news, sir.”  
“Indeed, miss.” He bowed politely. “Would you mind if I had a private word with my daughter?”  
“Not at all, sir. I would be most obliged.” Felicity bowed, then made her way to a distant corner of the room.  
“What is it that you wish to discuss with me? Could it not wait until we returned home?”  
“I am not sure if I will be returning home, you see.” He was visibly nervous. “I informed your mother of my other relationships, and she agreed that it would be best for us to part permanently – we shall remain husband and wife only in name. I decided that a legal termination was out of the question, especially as I intend to keep supporting the both of you financially. After all, I only chose to marry your mother to help provide her with financial stability.”  
“I cannot say I would be sorry to see you go. Your presence has rarely caused me much pleasure.”  
“I must admit that that had a part in my decision to leave so soon. I did not wish to prolong your exposure to my destructive influence.”  
“Thank you for your consideration.”  
“I shall leave you to enjoy the rest of the evening. I do not expect to see you again.”  
“In that case I wish you all the best, sir.”  
He bowed in response, then left the room, allowing Felicity to resume her conversation with Mary.  
**Roughly a Year Later**  
“Good morning my love.”  
“Is it really morning already? I could have sworn I only just fell asleep.”  
“That is because you stayed up all night writing, Mary. I believe you were rejecting yet another proposal. That’s what you told me anyway – I don’t believe there are so many men in the world who wish to marry you as you would have me believe.”  
“Why do you find it hard to believe that anyone is willing to marry me? You did agree to marry me yourself, Felicity.”  
“Exactly – if you are already married, how am I to believe that so many men are prepared to disregard this fact to ask for your hand?”  
“Do you think I am only telling you in order to make you jealous?”  
“Something like that. I think that, despite your protestations, you are being a dutiful daughter and maintain a secret correspondence with both of your parents.”  
Mary smiled, because Felicity was right. “Perhaps I am – you shall find no evidence to incriminate me.”  
There was a knock at the door, followed by the entrance of the maid. “Good morning madame Felicity, madame Mary. I trust you had a good night’s sleep.”  
“I certainly did, though I fear my wife fared much worse than me.”  
“I’ve barely slept a wink all night, Maud. I’ve had so many proposals to reject, you wouldn’t believe. Don’t they know I’m a married woman?”


End file.
